Helmet T-Visor Structure

 The First part is putting the two halves mentioned in the last post together. When using 5min epoxy it is best to sand or rough the smooth surfaces that you will be gluing to ensure a better seal between them. Here I sanded a little too much. Try to leave the back edge smooth when sanding. You only need the area between the inner and outer layers.

When I glue I do not try and put both pieces together all at the same time. Sometimes if you are not fast enough it can dry where you started before you can get the clamps in place. To give it maximum time to set I gave each glue section at least 20 min before handling the helmet again for the next section.

These next few pictures are the building of the dome. These patterns were printed on card stock and cut out with either regular scissors or a matte knife. To help avoid the corners created by taping the helmet together I gave each triangle a slight bend using the curve of my thumb. Now because these patterns are made for a complete paper build the dome has to be modded slightly. Notice I have removed a #8 triangle from the rear pattern. This allows for the dome pattern to fit well inside the decreased circumference inside the buckets. Trimming numbers 7 and 9 a little bit do not hurt to help them fit more flush.

Start of Practice Runs

This week the Kickstarter campaign for this project exceeded the goal for funding the project! In light of this I began to work with a few of the 5 gallon buckets in order to get a better idea of how I wanted/needed the structure to work out. Currently I am building two different versions changing around the Alan Sinclair patterns listed in the first blog post.

Typically I had always put the patterns together in the opposite way than what you can see in this picture. The main issue I had found with that way of using the patterns with 5 gallon buckets is that both joining the seam int he back of the helmet and adding in the vent detail proved difficult to get a smooth flush finish. I was hoping to eliminate visible seams by using the pattern in this way. The reasoning would be that the middle seam down the front of the helmet would be mostly eliminated by the cut out of the T-visor.

 These are the other pattern variations taped to the buckets for outlining. After making the cutouts I think that I want to both combine the new pattern cuts that I was looking at with the ones that I was using in my making of past helmets.

The inner surface patter I think will work better with the seam in the front of the pattern. This will eliminate the basic seam in the middle of the vent and allow the small seam in the front can be covered up the outer pattern.

The other consideration is that, unlike the practice builds, the final build will be double layered with sheet metal over top of the plastic of the buckets. The combination of this could provide another opportunity to avoid seams in the

plastic by covering them with the metal.

The next thing to consider before gluing the two patterns together is to figure out if I want to make the cuts for the "ears" of the helmet. I want to be able to make as few cuts as possible to keep the pattern structure strong, but enough cuts that I can secure the ears, that are gutted from the Fett helmet prop, while using as little glue on the outside of the helmet.




The tools I was using for this part were just a basic construction box cutter and an attempt at a heat knife. In the past I have also used a Dremel tool. I think that the most effective way is to use the box cutter. It requires a slightly time consuming process of scoring multiple times before making the final cut, but it is the most effective way to get a clean, straight cut. Below you can see the problems with the speed of the heat knife.













That's all the details that I have for now. The next entry will likely be about the dissassembly of the walkie-talkie in prep for the helmet.

Project Concept

My name is Owen, I graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree and love to have side projects that allow me to explore ideas I have not been able to have experience with. Previous projects have included sets of armor, trebuchets, and custom electronic lightsabers. Many times the projects I have will advance through several versions and/or upgrades. The purpose of this blog will to be to document the progress of the 3rd version of my Mandalorian Helmet. Currently I have experience with two Mandalorian Helmets. You can see these below. The first two are version 1:

 This Second one are a more recent build I did using sheet metal instead of cardboard and plastic to get a weightier feel and opportunity for some cool weathering. You can't see because of the painter's tape, but I did this one with a reflective visor.

Both Helmets were built using Alan Sinclair's 2006 paper patterns. You can find them yourself here at the Mandalorian Mercs forum where you can find several other patterns as well.

My brother has also spent time in building Mando Armor;

 And this is where my idea for the current project came from. After realizing it was difficult to talk to each other with helmets on I decided that I wanted to insert a walkie talkie into our helmets so that we could communicate without having to take them off. The other difference is that you can notice that he built his using the Rangefinder. This is where my second idea comes into play: I want to place a camera into the Rangefinder than then run the image down to the wrist gauntlets where it can be displayed and recorded.

This Project has been posted to Kickstarter to obtain the remainder of the funding that I need for the project. I own all the tools that I need for the project, and just need to acquire the build materials. The list is here:

• Cobra MicroTalk Walkie Talkies ($30)
• For the comm unit
• 2 5 Gallon Buckets ($7)
• For the main helmet construction
• Two Part Epoxy ($16)
• Plastic Resin EasyFlo 120 ($25)
• To smooth out and strengthen the dome
• JB Weld ($6)
• JB weld is great for the metal parts that I will be adding to the outside of the helmet. Seals and holds metal better than epoxy.
• 1 Sheet of Steel ($10)
• This allos for a cleaner, harder surface of the outside of the helmet as well as an opportunity for some excellent weathering
• 2 Speakers ($9)
• To replace the single speaker with stereo sound.
• Video Camera ($100?)
• I plan to purchase a used camcorder off Ebay or Craigslist. I would rather not buy a brand new camera for dis-assembly. Another option could be to use a car rear view camera and viewscreen.
• Costume Fett Helmet ($35)
• This will be for the ear sections with the viewfinder. It is far easier to harvest them off this toy helmet than creating my own from scratch with enough space for electronics. Also comes with a decent visor plate that can be tinted and trimmed to fit the custom helmet I am creating.

With the shipping for some of the internet items I cannot pick up in-store the project total comes out to about $250.

This Blog will continue to document the progress of the Kickstarter campaign and then the build process. I will be trying to include as many videos/pictures as possible in order that others can duplicate and improve upon the work that I have done.